ADVENTURES OF A RESTLESS B...: Simplicity and Bliss on a Saturday

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.

- Groucho Marx

I love that moment right before you open your eyes, when you're first returning to consciousness from a nights sleep. I wiggle my toes to feel the cool sheets across my skin, bringing awareness back into my body as I descend down from a dream state back into my bed. Grounding myself and bringing the mind and body back into one. Nestled into snug little pile, I feel a soft but heavy weight above my head on the pillows. It's moving. And there is another weight pressed up against my back. This one is a little less silky and a lot more still. My brain awakens and without opening my eyes, I am instantly familiar with my position in the center of a silken furry golden snuggle-puddle with Farley and Lola. I feel their gaze laying across my face waiting for the slightest sign of life. A deep inhale, a twitch of the eyelid, or a shift of position alerts them that I am about to awake and their party can begin.

That is precisely how I wake every single morning rain or shine, like clockwork with two devoted golden retrievers ecstatic that another morning has arrived, like a gift. Today wasn't unlike any other morning, except that today I woke up feeling exactly as they did. That this morning came to me as a gift and an opportunity to create my own bliss, revel in the little things, enjoy each passing moment.

So with a smile on my face and light radiating from my heart, I chose to bliss out. I buried my nose in the golden retriever fur, sent a love ripple far off into the aspens and ponderosa pines to be intercepted by mi amor so far away, and brewed a cup of coffee in the french press. Perfect. Even better, it's Saturday so with the coffee hot in my hand we headed into the forest for a little walking meditation. For me, being in the forest walking in silence, listening to the world awaken, and mindlessly following the wooded path to get lost in my thoughts, wander, explore, and breathe is pure bliss.

Here are some photos of the gifts which filled my bucket today, because I chose to accept what was sent down my path. I hope you choose to do the same. xoxo